»05/28/2012SYRIAFor apostolic nuncio, UN condemnation is not enough to stop the killing of the innocent The United Nations has to be late in condemning the barbaric slaughter of children since January. The recent of 108 people, including 49 children, is but the latest in a series. Mgr Zenari calls on the UN to support peace initiatives that Alawi, Sunni, Catholic and Orthodox religious leaders are promoting in Homs.

Damascus
(AsiaNews) - "The massacre of innocent children is an unbearable crime and
casts a dark shadow on this horrible war. However, the reaction of outrage from
international organisations is not enough. The United Nations must support and
give voice to the initiative of Syrian communities that are trying to react to the
violence in constructive ways and not with revenge," said Mgr Mario Zenari,
apostolic nuncio to Damascus. Speaking to AsiaNews,
he condemned the massacre of 108 people, including 49 children, between 25 and
26 May, in Houla, north of the city of Homs.

For
the prelate, the United Nations Security Council has waited too long before
condemning the endless killing of innocent people in the past few months. UN
sources put the number of children killed at 500 since the start of the year. "It
does not matter who is the author of these massacres, the spiral of blood and
violence must stop," he prelate said.

The
United Nations Security Council condemned the killing of civilians today,
stressing the urgent need for an accurate inquiry into what happened. The 15-member
Council blamed the Houla shelling on both sides after Russia rejected a
unilateral condemnation of the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

UN
and Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan will meet the Syrian president
tomorrow to redefine the objectives of the ceasefire that came into effect on
12 April but was never respected.

"UN
observers are not doing very much," Mgr Zenari explained. "People do not expect
the Kofi Anna plan to have any concrete results. They are trying to find alternative
solutions by themselves."

Catholic,
Orthodox, Alawi and Sunni leaders as well as representatives of civil society
groups have been meeting in recent days in Homs, the city that has come to
symbolise the uprising against the regime, in order to find a non-violent
solution to the conflict.

"The
aim," the nuncio said, "is to give Syrians a sign of hope, inviting them to get
involved and react in a constructive and peaceful way against those who want to
destroy the country,"

These
initiatives will continue in the coming days and will be proposed in other Syrian
cities. (S.C.)

EGYPT - ISLAMWhat Tayeb and Sisi said is big step towards a revolution in Islamby Samir Khalil SamirThe grand imam of Al-Azhar slammed literalist interpretations of the Qur'an and the Sunnah, as fundamentalists and Islamic terrorists do. He supports the urgent need for Islam's reform, especially in terms of teaching lay people and clerics. He also calls for an end to mutual excommunication (takfir) between Sunnis and Shias. Egyptian President al-Sisi chose to fight the Islamic state group after it beheaded 21 Coptic Christians, whom he called "Egyptian citizens" with full rights.

SAUDI ARABIA - ISLAMFor head of Al-Azhar, religious education reform is needed to stop Islamic extremismFor Ahmed al-Tayeb, it is urgent to come up with new educational programmes to avoid "corrupt interpretations" of the Qur'an and Sunnah. Islamic terrorism undermines the unity of the Muslim world. He blames Mideast tensions on a "new global colonialism allied to world Zionism". a speech by the Saudi king is read at the conference.